EL PAÍS DE LAS PIELES (Spanish Edition)

While her idealism is clear, she betrays an ignorance of history that her elite status and access to books and education should long ago have repudiated. The truth is that she traded one bubble for another, that she had access to wealth as the heiress to a coffee mogul, but lived among the impoverished in a way that can only now be viewed as slumming or fetish. She traveled the world and met many fascinating characters with great power as world leaders, but the tales of meeting Fidel Castro and others fail to shed much light on them and she displays a very sad support for Zionism that no modern radical would.

In the end, her depression seems to reveal that perhaps she did not have the idealism or courage of her convictions that we were led to believe, that she was perhaps merely a thrill seeking personality running on adrenaline which ran out when they won. She ended up marrying a man of some fair means--even if he too seemed a poseuer by working for NPR--and now spends her time flying back and forth several times a year to Nicaragua and in therapy or shopping, also buying the establishment and right wing view that technology will ultimately save us.

There is a great deal of good material here--and none in her poetry or novels, BTW--but it's difficult to get through the book, even if her writing is elegant and refined. Something simply rubs the reader the wrong way because of her background and that knowledge that she always had the ability to return to her life of privilege and wealth and now does so frequently. Feb 23, Jessica rated it really liked it.

All memoirs should be written by internationally reknowned poets; it makes them such a sumptuous read. She happened into being a sandinista more than she made a conscious political statement, and her privilege may have insulated her from a tr All memoirs should be written by internationally reknowned poets; it makes them such a sumptuous read. She happened into being a sandinista more than she made a conscious political statement, and her privilege may have insulated her from a true understanding of the risks she was taking, but even if some of her action was spurred by youthful naivete and recklessness, it is clear that she loves her country and its people and that she grew into a deserving leader.

The history and political upheaval provide a serious backbone for a story that is also sprinkled with unapologetic insights into parenting, love, sex, power, and the interplay between them all. Belli is frank about her romantic affairs, representing them all -- healthy, unhealthy, based on love, on sex, on a mixture of both -- as normal and equally valuable. She describes the sexism she experienced from fellow sandinistas and from world leaders frankly and without defensiveness. Jul 02, Diane Ramirez rated it liked it. Gioconda is a writer of great talents and a compelling story -- she was intimately connected with the Sandinista revolution from the beginning of the s.

I get the feeling this wasn't the best way for me to discover her. Gioconda Belli knew everybody, apparently every male she encountered including presidents and generals found her irresistible, she alway Gioconda is a writer of great talents and a compelling story -- she was intimately connected with the Sandinista revolution from the beginning of the s. Gioconda Belli knew everybody, apparently every male she encountered including presidents and generals found her irresistible, she always lived a life of extreme advantage NB except when she got in touch with the impoverished people, but only for as long as she could take it , and what's more, she always seemed to know what was right and best, even when her fellow countrymen were floundering.

The most "disparaging" thing she found to say about herself in this exploration of her life is that her particular interpretation of the Sandinista uniform included camouflage pants and a halter. It made her feel sexy. That's kind of like the old job interview answer "I am just too much of a perfectionist.

She also married a US citizen, so she is faced with the differences between the two countries in a big way to this day. However, she seems to forget that she is herself a product of privilege, even if she's from Central America. There are very few of us that are made directors of television stations, flown around the world to meet with world leaders, placed in "simple but comfortable" homes, flown to Mexico City by friends to get over a broken heart.

This is a perfect example of why I typically dread reading memoirs. It's not that I can't relate to Belli's life experiences, it's that she makes herself so aloof and above it all that it's impossible to relate to HER. Dec 06, Katherine rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Recommended to Katherine by: I would definitely make this more of a 4.

The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War

This was such a beautiful personal account of Gioconda Belli's journey into Sandinista activism and love affairs with multiple intellectual figures that drove many of her life decisions. One of the best factors of what made this story so precious was really her writing style, and I did read this in Spanish. I heard the English translation doesn't leave the same impression, but for those who can do it, please read the Spanish version. I l I would definitely make this more of a 4.

I literally felt the words were melting with honey all over with me with many of her phrases. On another note, her story is so fascinating, in terms of how she really lived each present moment and didn't hold back to push herself into a risky lifestyle within a guerrilla movement, living in exile and incorporating herself in love affairs without regrets. She was honest in her sharing her story, even being genuine that this life wasn't without pain.

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But everything ultimately came down to her choice of how she want to live her life, no matter how much we could choose to judge her decision-making patterns. Yes, it's true that in her story the main protagonists are always men, and there are no highlights of other feminists within the movement. But it might be her own self-interest in making sense of things as she draws out all the different men in her life and how she lived at a time where women's empowerment was a different thing.

She got married young because she thought that was her road to independence. But as soon as she saw what it really led to, she didn't follow the norm, but decided to led her life be led by what made her passionate. And yes, she does come from a more middle-upper class background where her choice to join the movement is different to someone from a poorer marginalized group. It doesn't mean that it isn't an interesting story and that we don't get a sense of what it meant to liberate Nicaragua from a US-funded dictator, as a promise to make the country a better place for future generations.

An extraordinary human being. I'd be curious to see how the translation into English turned out. It depicts a young woman from the burgeoisie who becomes an guerrilla fighter. Brought back memories of that whole era of the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan solidarity movement here in the U. And it also reminded me of when I visited Nicaragua in 82 or 83, to see the revolution up close, and ended up in a hospital in a contra war-ravaged area of northern Nicaragua with killer food poisoning The scarcity was such, the hospital was strapped for all kinds of supplies, including toilet paper But that was nothing compared to the wounded young soldiers that came in screaming I look forward to reading more of Gioconda Belli's poetry and fiction!

Jun 21, Sarah Macdonald rated it liked it. I have mixed reactions about this book. On one hand, it is a unique perspective on the Sandinista movement from someone who knew their inner workings. Also, we rarely hear of the women's involvement in such revolutions, so it's an even more intriguing perspective. However, I found Belli herself to be a privileged, name-dropping narcissist whose personal life was horrifyingly shallow. As she demonizes those she cheated on to justify her many affairs, and glosses over the fact she was largely abse I have mixed reactions about this book.

As she demonizes those she cheated on to justify her many affairs, and glosses over the fact she was largely absent mother yet takes credit for her children's successes, it sets off red flags about the veracity of her narrative. If her reflections on her personal life seem to have a heavy bias, can we readers trust her perspective of the revolution? And as a poet, she does not apply a poet's frugality with words; at times the story got bogged down with heavy-handed details and endless, odd descriptions of people based on how good looking they were, or with long, pointless sagas about influential men who made passes at her.

Due to its unique perspective, I would recommend it to any interested in the Sandinista movement, but not to those interested in a good read. Simplesmente adorei esta autobiografia da escritora e ativista Gioconda Belli! Oct 23, Nic rated it really liked it. An easy to read account of life in Nicaragua just before, during and after the Sandanista revolution in Gioconda relates her story as only someone both on the inside of a political upheaval and an artist can. That makes it an interesting story revealing both her romance with the revolution and her disillusionment.

It is not a historical text and is limited to the perspective of just one person, but at the same time, much more entertaining and personal because of the real life confusion and An easy to read account of life in Nicaragua just before, during and after the Sandanista revolution in It is not a historical text and is limited to the perspective of just one person, but at the same time, much more entertaining and personal because of the real life confusion and emotions intertwining with the bigger world news story.

Mar 31, Sheri Fresonke Harper rated it really liked it Shelves: I bought this book before going to Nicaragua recently and just finished it. It feels odd to see my country as a villain. The feminist take on the revolution was interesting, as does the reactions of various women. This memoir though feels very personal, despite the historical aspects. Sep 07, Andrea Rizzo rated it really liked it. I read this book just before my first trip to Nicaragua. It was a good primer on what life was like before and after the earthquake, but more importantly, all about the revolution from an insider's perspective.

The fact that the author was a feminist and poet made it even more fascinating. Jun 26, Shira Reiss rated it it was amazing. I absolutely loved this book!! She is a romantic, practical idealist, grounded visionary and author of paradoxes who sees life in all its fullness. This book gave a point of view from a woman who was intimately and deeply involved in the Sandinista revolution to oust the dictator, Samoza, the horrendous earthquake in Managua, meeting Castro as well as the post re I absolutely loved this book!!

This book gave a point of view from a woman who was intimately and deeply involved in the Sandinista revolution to oust the dictator, Samoza, the horrendous earthquake in Managua, meeting Castro as well as the post revolution struggle for power followed by the Contra-Sandinista War funded by the U. Recently I was in Nicaragua.

I was handed this book when I said that I really wanted to understand the history of the country. This book was a real find! When I finished it, I felt a deep connection with the country and all of past troubles and a connection with the author, Gioconda Belli. The book is so intimate that I feel that I not only got to know her, but that I grew up with her through her early years as a woman discovering herself as a sexual being to finding true love and especially her budding idealism as a Sandinista.

Her views of life in U. Her memoir takes us from Managua — Santa Monica If not, you may enjoy these passages. Who am I as a woman? I had exposed myself to bullets, death; I had smuggled weapons, given speeches, received awards, had children--so many things, but a life without men, without love, was alien to me, I felt I had no existence unless a man's voice said my name and a man's love rendered my life worthwhile.

It was not a question of denying men a role in my life, but I was determined to stop being emotionally dependent on them. I forced myself to examine my vulnerabilities: I had filled a raw emotional void, tried to make up for affection I had lacked, by asserting myself and my femininity mostly though my sexuality and my powers of seduction, ignoring and underestimating my other gifts.

I thought nothing of my tenacity, or my optimism I also understood that I loved my children, but only as reflections, only in two dimensions, as if they were just simple, sweet creatures, and I could not see that below the surface they too had fears, complexities" p. Who am I as a poet? It was water flowing from a spring within me that channeled onto the page, effortlessly. I also thought of it as energy produced by an unseen organ in my body--a sensory antenna, perhaps, that would capture aromas, feelings, sensations, and every so often would release a flash of illumination.

If I had paper, pen, and silence at hand when the first verse broke into my consciousness, that thunderbolt would ignite a poem" p. To be or not to be a revolutionary? I stood there for what must have been a long time, watching their peaceful faces as they slept in their orange-colored beds. Melissa with her pacifier and Maryam with her arms wide open. If only I could take them back into my womb to shelter them. I wanted a womb to hide in with them, the warm safety of the amniotic fluid.

At least Nicaragua wasn't like Argentina, or Chile, where the dictatorships tortured and killed children along with their parents. I didn't fear for their lives--what I feared was the idea of them being left all alone. Did I have any right, as a mother, to take such risks? But my fate was sealed. Inside of me there wasn't the slightest impulse to turn back. A threat like this, in fact, had the opposite effect: Then and there, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't allow fear to turn me into a passive observer of all the ills and injustices that surrounded me" p. More than anything, though, I missed my friends, forever busy with their crazy dreams of changing the world.

Conversations were mostly about events happening around them, not inside of them. Wit substituted for intimacy, Irony rook the place of dreams. Every so often I would find someone I could be close to. I began to understand that one of the more salient aspects of American middle-class culture was privacy, the nuclear family as a tiny, protected haven from the outside world. Lots of them were as foreign as I was in that city. This social dispersion, this lack of community and collective living, was another, second exile for me.

I realized that in the US, too often you enter into a society as if entering a hostile, highly competitive territory. You leave your home dressed with armor, with your heart shielded, well protected. This exile—the lack of intimacy with others, the lack of belonging, the absence of a common purposeswas the most difficult one for me.

But the earth shook….

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The next morning, I was shocked by what I saw: This was nothing like Nicaragua! Since , whenever there are tremors everyone panics and waits for the worst… Our neighbors had all been very kind… we all helped one another turn off the gas. I am from a place where life is much more fragile.

There, when tragedy strikes, the one and only think you can count on is solidarity, the company of others. It was probably the case also in poor neighborhoods in LA. But here, my neighbors were confident that their houses were well built, that the firemen would always answer their call that the police were there to protect them. I, however, was frightened by the possibility of anarchy and chaos. All my senses were in a constant state of high alert, ready to defend my life and that of my family, all alone, if necessary.

My reaction, primitive that it was, was the result of years of war and uncertainty. I yearn for the unbridled energy, the incredible, crazy, impossible dreams that took me out of myself in search of a common experience. I know that the obsession to redeem humanity can be just as dangerous as the fanaticisms I see in the faces of those who dedicate themselves to perfect bodies, pure, unadulterated food, and the quest for immortality.

On the pleasure that begins and ends in oneself can even remotely be compared to the exaltation and joy that comes from joining others in the effort to change the world. I realize that for me the Revolution was more than just a mere flirtation—a trip to the other sidein my journey on this earth. It was a crucial fact that changed me forever. But reality taught me otherwise. Life has shown me that not every commitment requires payment in blood, or the heroism of dying in the line of fire.

There is a heroism inherent to peace and stability, an accessible, everyday heroism that may not challenge us with the threat of dearth, but which challenges us to squeeze every last possibility out of life, and to live not one but several lives all at the same time. To accept oneself as a multiple being in time and space is part of modern life, and one of the possibilities enjoyed by those of us who live in an era in which technology can be embraces as a liberating rather than alienating force. Human aspirations are no longer constricted by geographic limitations. In constant contact with my friends and the political life of Nicaragua, I feel that my little country has become portable and near despite its distance, that the horizon is open wide, and that I define the limits of my pursuits…… …..

Often, my life in the US seems like a parenthesis of introspection, an existence within a community of people in whose eyes I see profound loneliness and an aching desire for community, for purpose. I often feel distant, a prisoner of my own prejudice, a reticent inhabitant who fights with herself to not ignore the experiences of a country in which, every day, more than two hundred million people are trying to find meaning in their lives. Here I have come to recognize that any model of society must be based on absolute respect for individual freedom, that this inalienable right is the foundation of the large and small joys of any people.

Every months I go back to Nicaragua. I continue to be another citizen of the world who is passionately convinced that our planet will only survive if we eliminate the gross inequalities that divide its people…. I dare say, after the life that I have lived, that there is nothing quixotic or romantic in wanting to change the world. It is the age-old vocation of all humanity.

Our world, filled with possibilities, is and will be the result of the efforts offered up by us, its inhabitants. Just as life was a consequence of trial and error, the social organization that brings us the full realization of our potential as a species will issue from the ebb and flow of struggles we jointly undertake across the globe.

The future is a construct that is shaped in the present, and that is why to be responsible in the present is the only way of taking responsibility for the future. We will have grandchildren and they will have children too. The world will continue, and whether we know it or not, we are deciding its course every day. My deaths, my dead, were not in vain.

This is a relay race to the end of time. Mar 22, Sara rated it it was amazing. A must read for anyone visiting the beautiful country of Nicaragua. Sep 16, Sherrie Miranda rated it it was amazing. After all I used Belli's understanding of the struggle for a character in my novel. I apologize for not posting this sooner, especially since I read it in just a few days as it was full os suspense and stead 5. I apologize for not posting this sooner, especially since I read it in just a few days as it was full os suspense and steadily brought the reader to the understanding of a Revolutionary woman who was soon made to feel her services weren't needed anymore once the Revolution had happened.

Perhaps that explains why the changes didn't last? Belli's story is one of great courage, fortitude and understanding. Belli, obviously loved her people very much, since she was one the the few who could have escaped but didn't. Belli is talented, not only as a poet, but also as a storyteller. I sincerely hope we get some more prose from this amazing woman and writer. Thank you for writing such a beautiful and eye-opening book. I added this comment to a review that suggested Belli should explain why poets are so important to her people: Actually, poetry has had a "more political function" all over the world, including the U.

But one would only know that if one were involved in the politics of the oppressed and Making political change from the bottom up. Even many of the songs of the sixties were about political change. And of course, the folk music before that.

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In Latin America, many of the great poems that were made to create social change have been made into songs, including in El Salvador, Roque Dalton's "Poema de Amor," Love Poem, an homage to the Salvadoran people and their struggle. I am sure this has happened all over the world, I just am not that familiar with the tradition in other countries. You make a good point, though, perhaps we shouldn't assume that the reader is already a convert to the cause.

After all, reading is how many of us came to be enlightened. Many of us were fortunate to have others around to help us understand, but in this day of people staying at home in front of their PCs, we may need to preface work that has an important political impact. Anyway, bravo to you, Poniplaizy, for wading through the memoir and finding the gems that were there.

I imagined you must have "googled" a lot to figure out what happened in Nicaragua in the 70s. Let's hope others will do the same. Peace, Sherrie Miranda P. My novel has a translation of "Love Poem" by Roque Dalton and his presence is felt throughout the novel. He wrote the song too: This is the first full book that I've read in Spanish! It was slow at first because I felt this weird pressure to look up every single word I didn't know, and since Belli is a poet there were a lot.

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